Avatar: The Last Airbender -Watch Airbender Episodes on DVD *BEFORE* Nick Broadcasts Them in the USA!

Comic Con Reports Confirm that Release Dates for DVDs Will Not Change

Posted by David Lambert

4/20/2008

This past week we had an extensive write-up, attempting to answer fan questions about the DVD schedule for Avatar: The Last Airbender, as compared to the broadcast schedule on Nickelodeon of the episodes on those upcoming discs. As we told you at the time, the schedule per Nick and distributor Paramount Home Entertainment continues to show the following:

May 6th - Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 3: Fire, Volume 3[pre-order]

July 29th - Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 3: Fire, Volume 4[pre-order]

This weekend the New York Comic Con is taking place in New York City, and last night was the Avatar: The Last Airbender discussion panel, including participation by the folks who run the show. Late in the evening, reports started appearing on various websites around the 'net about what was said at this panel, and it answers all of our questions about the DVD schedule vs. the broadcast schedule!

...The trailer ended with the words, "The Journey Concludes July 2008," at which time all remaining new episodes of Avatar will air. Privately, a Nickelodeon PR representative confirmed that the release date for the third DVD of the season will not change from May 6, 2008, meaning that several episodes of the show will be available on DVD well before they air on television.

Wow, what a great piece of news! And rather rare, in our experience here (although not completely unheard of...especially for animated shows). The report at ToonZone also addressed one other thing that keeps coming up, about how our friends to the north have seen a couple of the "post-Eclipse" episodes in December and January, but which haven't aired in the states:

One fan asked jokingly why Canada gets new episodes before the US did, to which [show co-creator Michael] DiMartino could only respond, "We'd like to know more about that ourselves."

So apparently this whole thing with the broadcast craziness is not by design of the producers of the show, but rather something that is going on with Nickelodeon themselves. For what its worth, it's interesting to note that the "July" timeframe of the completion of the series is timed to not only happen just in front of the recently-announced Book 3: Fire, Volume 4 DVD release, but also timed to coincide with the weekend of the San Diego Comic Con as well. Hmmm...tie-in marketing gone mad? Maybe!

Our thanks to the great guys at ToonZone.net for being on-the-scene to deliver their report, since we couldn't be there.